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Australian Open 2017: Huge boilover as Murray dumped out by Zverev

Andy Murray's top ranking meant nothing as he was dumped from the Australian Open.

Andy Murray's top ranking meant nothing as he was dumped from the Australian Open. Photo: Getty

World No.1 Andy Murray has crashed out of the Australian Open, falling to German journeyman Mischa Zverev in a monumental fourth-round upset.

The three-time grand slam champion struggled to handle the world No.50’s remarkable play at the net, slumping to a 7-5 5-7 6-2 6-4 defeat at Melbourne Park on Sunday.

The shock result leaves the men’s draw wide open after defending champion Novak Djokovic was earlier eliminated in the second round.

It is the first time since 2004 that the top two men’s seeds have failed to reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam, and the first time it has happened at Melbourne Park since 2002.

Mischa Zverev

Germany’s Mischa Zverev played the game of his life against Murray. Photo: AP

Zverev was cheered on by his younger brother Alexander, who was considered by far the most likely of the pair to make a deep run at the Open before his agonising five-set loss to Rafael Nadal on Saturday.

But it was the older sibling who shone in the spotlight on Sunday, stunning Murray with the performance of a lifetime in his sixth Open appearance having never previously made it past the second round.

The 29-year-old’s reward for his career win is a quarter-final shot at either four-times champion Roger Federer or fifth seed Kei Nishikori, who play their fourth-round match on Sunday night.

“I don’t know yet how I feel because everything is new to me and everything feels a little bit unreal,” Zverev said.

Murray was far from his best against the unheralded left-hander, struggling with his second serve and growing increasingly frustrated by his seeming inability to read the German’s play.

It is the first time in more than a decade that Murray has been defeated at a grand slam by someone ranked as lowly as Zverev.

“It just wasn’t meant to be,” the Scot said.

“He served very well when he needed to, especially when he was behind in games. He deserved to win.

“He came back from all of the mistakes that he made, kept coming up with great shots. There’s not too much you can do about that. It was obviously disappointing to lose. But he did some good stuff out there.”

With an opportunity to take a 5-3 lead in the fourth set, Zverev looked like nerves may get the better of him, hitting a simple forehand smash into the net.

But he quickly regrouped, playing a series of remarkable shots at the net to pull off one of the biggest upsets in Open history.

“Honestly, there were a few points where I don’t know how I pulled them off,” Zverev said.

Former world No.1 Jim Courier was among those surprised by Murray’s failure to bring the match back under control during the fourth set.

“He’s a passenger in these points right now,” Courier said in the Seven Network commentary box.

“He’s in the second chair. This guy (Zverev) is driving.”

-AAP

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